Headlines
News + Updates
Cancer Research News
Promising Potential New Treatment for Patients with Sepsis, Cancer or Genetic Conditions
Cells need energy to live, which they get from adenosine triphosphate. Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is needed to form adenosine triphosphate, so in turn this mitochondrial enzyme is essential to life. Numerous disease processes have the ability to deactivate pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, thus preventing cellular glucose oxidation. Researchers at UF Health, the Southeast’s most comprehensive academic medical center, have found a potential target for treating the problem that is showing great promise. READ MORE
Prostate Radiotherapy Patients Begin Receiving SpaceOAR Hydrogel at the Davis Cancer Pavilion
The Department of Radiation Oncology has begun administering SpaceOAR hydrogel in patients undergoing prostate radiotherapy at the UF Health Medical Oncology – Davis Cancer Pavilion. READ MORE
UF Health researchers discover molecule that impedes multiple sclerosis-like disease
In multiple sclerosis patients, the body’s immune system goes rogue and attacks the protective covering on nerve fibers. Now, a group led by University of Florida Health researchers has found a crucial molecule impedes the development of a multiple sclerosis-like disease in mice. READ MORE
UF Health-led ReMission Summit draws top experts, focuses on new brain tumor treatments
Top brain cancer experts from across the nation and beyond came together in Orlando last weekend at the invitation of University of Florida Health’s Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., and William A. Friedman, M.D., world leaders in the quest to significantly improve quality of life and long-term survival for patients fighting malignant brain tumors. READ MORE
Genetic Testing Lags in Breast, Ovarian Cancer
Low rates of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer involve multiple factors, according to Merry Jennifer Markham, M.D., a clinical/scientific expert for the American Society of Clinical Oncology. READ MORE
Announcements
UFHCC Clinical Research Internship
About: The UF Health Cancer Center is currently seeking clinical research interns for the fall 2019 cohort. The program allows students to assist clinical investigators and study teams with the research process while also growing their oncology knowledge and resumes. Interns have the opportunity to work as clinical research assistants and will participate in data capture and entry, laboratory procedures and regulatory affairs related to clinical research. As part of this program, interns also participate in a quality improvement project and analyze the data as part of a poster/abstract presentation. These are paid internship positions.
Recent clinical research intern Kenstin Nnaji studied nutritional sciences as an undergrad and hopes to become a pharmacist. As an undergrad, Nnaji did not have a lot of exposure to research and hoped to gain a better understanding of research in both the laboratory and clinical environments. Thanks to the UF Health Cancer Center, Nnaji was able to achieve this goal.
When: The application deadline is April 3o.
Contact: Alison Ivey | aivey@ufl.edu
More Info: For criteria, click here. To apply, click here.
Flow Cytometry Short Course I/II
This course will be co-taught by Andria Doty, Ph.D., the ICBR flow core scientific director, and is intended for users from all departments.
Flow Cytometry is now a widely used method for analyzing the expression of cell surface and intracellular molecules, characterizing and defining different cell types in a heterogeneous cell populations, assessing the purity of isolated subpopulations and analyzing cell size and volume. It allows simultaneous multi-parameter analysis of single cells. The cells are then incubated in tubes or microtiter plates with fluorochrome-labeled antibodies and analyzed on a flow cytometer.
The focus of this course is to teach the best practices when using this cutting edge technology to produce the most reproducible publication quality data for your research studies. The course will cover the basics of instrument operations to proper controls, experimental set up and design as well as hands-on techniques in proper instrument operations, as well as the acquisition of a stained six color PBMC panel. Following the acquisition of real samples, we will practice proper compensation set up as well as manual versus digital compensation in experiments. All of these topics and skills are required for new as well as experienced users to learn correctly and to apply them correctly to daily research.
Course Contents:
- Introduction to Flow Cytometry instrumentation, Fluidics, Optics and Electronics -Proper voltage set up on the instruments and why this is important
- Understanding Staining index and Titration MFI curve
- Proper use of Isotype, Unstained, Positive and Negative control
- Proper use of FC antibody block to prevent non-specific stainin
- Proper Compensation and FMO gating control
- Panel design titrations, validation and optimization best practices
- Flow Cytometer Setup (BD LSRII BD CANTO II or BD LSRFortessa with FACSDiva v8) with special emphasis on digital vs manual compensation.
- Basics on flow cytometer settings – voltages, gating, dump channels, exclusion, and compensation.
- Hands-on acquisition of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) with a basic flow panel
- Each attendee will setup a flow cytometer and perform manual compensation, acquire data and discuss data analysis as a team in Flowjo or FCS express 6.0 software
When: May 1-2 | May 22-23
Cost: $125 per person (includes take home package materials and digital resources)
Contact: Andria Doty, Ph.D. | sun30@ufl.edu
East Gainesville Relay for Life
New Certificate Program | Spring 2019 | Cancer: Biology, Epidemiology and Outcomes
Registration for the 2019 Relay For Life event in East Gainesville is now open. All UF Health teams that register with “UF Health” in their name will receive a UF Health swag bag and UF Health team t-shirts for the event!
When: Friday, May 3 | 6 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Where: Howard Bishop Middle School
More Info: For more information on how to start your team, visit www.RelayForLife.org/EastGainesvilleFL.
Free professional portrait
UF Health Creative Services offers open studio hours at Communicore C2-20 every month. Simply stop by during one of the time slots listed on the bottom of their webpage — there’s no need to sign up beforehand, and it only takes five minutes! Here are some of the upcoming sessions:
04/29 3-4 p.m.
05/01 9-10 a.m.
05/14 3-4 p.m.
05/29 9-10 a.m.
06/11 3-4 p.m.
06/13 9-10 a.m.
06/24 3-4 p.m.
06/26 9-10 a.m.
07/09 3-4 p.m.
07/11 9-10 a.m.